NEWS
ARCHIVE: 16-30 April 2001

Avery
to Run as a CowboyXFLBoard.com
- 2001.04.29
It
has been reported that the Dallas Cowboys have agreed to terms
with Chicago Enforcers running back John Avery. Avery is reported
to be ready to sign one year deal worth $389,000.

XFL
could have a future without NBCSan
Jose Mercury News - 2001.04.27
Just
because the XFL's prime-time perch on NBC is about to be yanked
away, and just because it was a monumental ratings and aesthetic
embarrassment, don't assume that Vince McMahon's weird little
football league is going to immediately vanish. Because if McMahon
wants to continue -- and there's no doubt that his ego won't
allow him to watch this fall apart or that his WWF-stuffed wallet
can afford at least one more go-round -- the XFL certainly has
enough life to motor on, with or without a major network.
...
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NFL
teams have been watching XFLESPN.COM
- 2001.04.26
Corey
Nelson caught merely nine passes for the Las Vegas Outlaws during
the XFL season, but agent Derrick Fox claims he recently had
six NFL teams battling for the wide receiver's services. Why
would the NFL scramble for a part-time player from a team that
failed to make the playoffs in a league it officially refused
to acknowledge? Size and speed. Specifically, Nelson, who is
6-foot-1, 200 pounds, has been clocked in the 40-yard dash in
a world-class 4.28 seconds. Ultimately, the Seattle Seahawks
prevailed and signed him to a contract. "It's a game that's
played with speed," Nelson said Wednesday from his home in Boise,
Idaho. "You can't teach too many athletes to run fast."
...
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XFL
Names FIrst All-League TeamXFL
Press Release - 2001.04.26 The
XFL today named its first All-League Team as voted by players
and coaches at the conclusion of the regular season. The All-XFL
Team is made up of 24 players, 11 each from offense and defense,
one kicker and one special teams addition. The XFL completed
its first season last Saturday, with the Los Angeles Xtreme
defeating the San Francisco Demons, 38-6, in the league's championship,
"The Million Dollar Game." Ironically, the league champion Xtreme
placed only two players on the All-League Team while the Demons
had only one. ...
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A Gamble
that Didn't Pay OffWall
Street Journal - 2001.04.25 ...With
NBC's approval, the WWF wrote the scripted material for game
No. 1 in Las Vegas. WWF star Dwayne Johnson, a k a "The Rock,"
brayed that America was "psyched, pumped, geeked and cranked"
about the XFL. In a taped bit aired during the game, a cheerleader
said the Las Vegas quarterback knew "how to score"; he replied
with a speech on how to "penetrate for the touchdown." At least
six NBC and WWF executives -- including McMahon and Ebersol
-- were in the production truck outside Sam Boyd Stadium shouting
orders to Vasgersian and commentator Jesse Ventura. On the air,
Ventura, the wrestler-turned-governor, was visibly nervous,
and his hype-filled comments contrasted with the underwhelming
quality of play... ...
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Did
XFL get fair shake from media?Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel - 2001.04.25 "It
was goofy," said Vasgersian, referring to the experience of
the whole season. "It was just so weird. By the end of the season,
we were doing a pretty good show, I thought. A lot of the things
that were wrong with the telecast in the first six weeks were
corrected. Unfortunately, viewers left and never came back."
Vasgersian thinks the league did not get a fair shake in the
media. "There were so many people who had an (aim) to bury this
thing because of, I don't know, personal vendettas or the fact
that they couldn't stand to see McMahon succeed in football,
I don't know," he said. "Say what you will with McMahon's appearance
with (Bob) Costas, when you take a lot of the show out of that,
what Vince said was accurate. It was a start-up league. It was
brand-building. Give it a break. Cut it some slack."
...
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The
Joke is Over: NFL to take look at 90 XFL playersUSA
Today - 2001.04.24
Hold
those laughs about the XFL"s low TV ratings and adventurous
games. In an interesting twist, the XFL is in the process of
releasing about 90 players to leave early and try out with NFL
teams. "So far, over 70 players have opted out of their contracts
to work out and sign with the NFL," said Mike Keller, the XFL"s
director of football operations. "We anticipate 80-90 players
signing with the NFL. Every one of our games was scouted by
NFL people." ...
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LA
Xtreme Conquer San Francisco's DemonsAssociated
Press - 2001.04.22
Former
NFL backup Tommy Maddox threw for two touchdown passes, and
Jose Cortez, a roofer from Oregon, kicked four field goals as
the Los Angeles Xtreme beat the San Francisco Demons 38-6 on
Saturday in the first XFL (news - web sites) championship game.
The "Million Dollar Game'' drew a crowd of 24,153 to the 90,000-seat
Los Angeles Coliseum. Attendance was some 10,000 fewer than
the Xtreme's inaugural game at home, but almost double the gate
of 13,081 for Los Angeles' semifinal victory over Chicago a
week earlier. The Xtreme's defense, led by Ron Carpenter's two
interceptions, shut out the Demons until the final 25 seconds
after earlier blanking San Francisco in the regular-season finale.
...
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Million
Dollar Photo GalleryXFL-Football.com
- 2001.04.22 Bryan
Eggars, of http://www.xfl-football.com, has captured the essence
of the behind the scenes action of the Million Dollar Game.
From Dick Butkus and Vince Mcmahon giving interviews to Linda
McMahon signing autographs, this photo gallery shows the atmosphere
at the LA Coliseum before and during the XFL championship game.
...
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Today:
The XFL's First Million Dollar GameXFLBoard.com
- Associated Press - 2001.04.21 Home town
fans could be sparse, but QB's on opposing teams both come out swinging
in defense of their own league...The stands in the Coliseum are
expected to be nearly empty and the national television audience may
be the smallest ever for a pro sports title game. To the San Francisco
Demons and Los Angeles Xtreme, it's still 60 minutes of football with
a championship at stake when they meet today in The Million Dollar Game
for the XFL's first title. ...
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Message
to the Sports World: Don't Write Off the XFLTroy
Pringle - 2001.04.20
This
league has a lot to be proud of as it broke barriers in many
aspects of sporting broadcasts. Although it does not admit its
liking of the XFL, NFL officials have gone on the record saying
it will incorporate some of the great ideas the XFL has introduced
to the game of football. The XFL must take pride in its accomplishments,
look at its strong spots and improve its weaknesses, a task
which is already under way. ...
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The
Million Dollar Pick: A Look Ahead Against the SpreadThe
Masked Prognosticator - 2001.04.20 In
the championship game we find Los Angeles laying 7 1/2 points
again, and siding with favorites laying large playoff lines
is tricky. Thanks to the new PAT rules a team down by 20 points
can still tie a game with minutes left. Nonetheless this is
such a one-sided affair that we think the Million Dollar Game
will follow the NFL SuperBowl tradition of anti-climatic blowouts.
As the recent XFL radio commercial says, "San Francisco is just
trying to find a way to win" and boy, is that ever true.
...
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McMahon:
XFL to Return in 2002, but Not on NBC LA
Times - 2001.04.19
The
XFL will be back next season, only its games will not be televised
by NBC, league founder Vince McMahon said Wednesday. "There's
nothing official, but as for NBC showing games on Saturday nights,
that's not going to happen," McMahon said during an interview
about the first year of his football league. ...
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Orlando
Rage's Galen Hall Named XFL Coach of the YearXFL
Press Release - 2001.04.19 The
XFL today named Orlando Rage head coach Galen Hall as 2001 Coach
of the Year, as voted upon by the XFL head coaches and general
managers. Hall led the Rage to an 8-2 regular-season record,
winning the Eastern Division regular-season championship by
three games and finishing with the best mark in the XFL. Hall
accomplished this feat despite the fact he lost starting QB
Jeff Brohm, who would have been a serious XFL Player of the
Year candidate, to a shoulder injury in week seven. ...
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Million
Dollar Game CommentsXFLBoard.com
- 2001.04.19 "We
have to score more points than they do. I don't know about the running
game, but I hope we make some changes. The last time we played them,
it did not work so hot. We did not execute really well either, we definitely
didn't bring our "A" game for that one. We made a lot of mistake and
a lot of mental errors. You can't win playing against a good team making
mental errors. They were in playoff form and at that point, we weren't.
This has been a team that gets up for games all year long. The team
has always found a way to win games and they showed it last week when
we got up for the Orlando game and won that one. This team finds away
to win when it is really focused." ...
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The
XFL's Xclamation Point On SaturdayMike
Mitchell - XFLBoard.com - 2001.04.19
It's
been a wild season for the XFL. The misunderstood league has
had a lot of ups and downs in it's first year. No sports league
has ever recieved more scrutiny then the XFL. The league is
trying to carve out a niche for itself in a sporting world that
is not willing to accept it. Saturday Night at the Los Angeles
Coliseum, the LA Xtreme are pumped up to claim one million dollars
and the XFL's very first championship. They face the league's
most popular team and their California rival, the San Fransisco
Demons. The football experts predicted that LA would make it
to the championship. San Fran wasn't expected to be there.
...
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Los
Angeles Xtreme QB Tommy Maddox Named XFL player of the Year
XFL
Press Release - 2001.04.18 The
XFL today named Los Angeles Xtreme quarterback Tommy Maddox
its 2001 Player of the Year, as selected by a panel of XFL team
executives, media and broadcasters. Maddox led the XFL in passing
yards (2186) and touchdown passes (18), en route to guiding
the Xtreme to a regular-season Western Division championship,
as well as a berth in Saturday's "Million Dollar Game". An original
territorial pick of the Xtreme, the UCLA product was the only
XFL QB to start all 10 regular-season games. Maddox threw at
least one TD pass in eight of ten games, and at least two TD
passes in six regular-season outings. ...
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XFL's
attitude holds a place in Butkus' heart Lancaster
Intelligencer Journal - 2001.04.18
"The
AFL was considered a schlock outfit, you know, throwing the
ball over the place. Same thing here. We have a new league here
and you have some commentators ripping the officials, ripping
the players. But you've got to understand, man. When you get
70 guys on Jan. 2 and you play your first game on Feb. 3 you're
going to have guys jumping offside, delay of game, illegal motion.
Well, whaddya want? The football people knew that, but evidently
the network people didn't. I guess they thought we were going
to come out like we had been in camp and had six exhibition
games." ...
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McCullough,
Harper, Huff and Egbuniwe the Fan's Choice for Player of the
WeekXFLBoard.com:
Players of the Week - 2001.04.17 At
XFLBoard.com we'd like to think that the fans are the most important
commodity in the equation. Who is better than to choose the
XFL players of the Week than the same fans who cheer them on?
Why should you vote? To let the players know that the fans appreciate
their effort each and every week of the season! This week the
fans have chosen Saladin McCullough, Dwayne Harper, Ben Huff
and Chike Egbuniwe. Congratulations! ...
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Ratings
ImproveAssociated
Press - 2001.04.17 NBC's
coverage of the XFL playoff game Saturday night between San
Francisco and Orlando produced a 1.8 rating, highest in three
weeks for the new league. The rating represented a 20 percent
improvement from the season-low 1.5 the network got in the final
regular-season week but was still less than half of the 4.5
the network had promised advertisers. UPN's rating for the Sunday
night playoff game between Chicago and Los Angeles was 0.7,
up from 0.6 the week before. Each ratings point represents 1.1
million homes. San Francisco defeated Orlando 26-25 and Los
Angeles defeated Chicago 33-16. The league's championship game
will be played at Los Angeles Saturday night.

Underdog
Demons Win After a 16 point Deficit Nstarz
Ha - XFLBoard.com - 2001.04.17 Rage,
take that! A home undefeated streak all gone. If only it was
that easy. Turnover after turnover, the Demons were losing by
a total of 16 points! And that wasn't even half way through
the 1st quarter! Everything that went wrong happened in the
first seven minute of the game. The Demons didn't score on their
first drive, so they punted the ball to the Rage's 26-yard line.
Four plays later including a 29 yard pass interference call,
brought the Rage to the Demons' 30 yard line. In the next Demons'
possession, they tried to start a scoring drive, but the pass
was picked off and returned 17 yards for a touchdown. Score:
0-9 Rage. ...
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LA
Xtreme Advance to FinalAssociated
Press - 2001.04.16
Tommy
Maddox threw two touchdown passes, and Saladin McCullough ran
for 164 yards on 21 carries as the Los Angeles Xtreme advanced
to the XFL's first championship game by beating the Chicago
Enforcers 33-16 Sunday. The Xtreme will play the San Francisco
Demons next Saturday at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Demons
advanced by beating the Orlando Rage 26-25 Saturday in the other
semifinal. "Now with San Francisco, it's the best two-out-of-three
for all the marbles,'' said Los Angeles coach Al Luginbill,
whose team lost to the Demons 15-13 in the season-opener but
won the rematch 24-0. ...
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